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Careers in Anesthesiology, Autobiographical Memoirs, Volume 4

2001; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 93; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1097/00000539-200108000-00066

1526-7598

Norig Ellison,

Medical History and Research

Careers in Anesthesiology, Autobiographical Memoirs, Volume 4 B. R. Fink and K. E. McGoldrick, editors. Park Ridge, IL: Wood Library-Museum, 2000. ISBN 1-889595-04-7. 181 pages, $40.00. Once again the Wood Library-Museum has produced four enjoyable, easily read autobiographies of distinguished anesthesiologists: Nicholas M. Greene, Erwin Lear, Jerome H. Modell, and Leroy Vandam. This reviewer knows all four personally and yet was surprised to learn new facts about each—ranging from Jerry Modell being an all-star guard on his high school football team to Nick Greene’s initial trips to the African continent being related to his interest in ornithology, but culminating in the ASA Overseas Teaching Program. The four autobiographies range from 20 to 108 pages and provide a picture not only of anesthesia, but of life in America during the 20th century—e.g., Nick Greene required 5 days to travel cross-country by train from New York City to San Francisco in the 1930s, and as late as 1955 Erwin Lear took an overnight sleeper train across New York state from New York City to Buffalo. The interaction between these four men attest to the anesthesia community’s size being large, but not too large. Modell comments on the rejection by Vandam of a manuscript submitted to Anesthesiology with the critique being longer than the manuscript! Initially disappointed, on reflection Modell realizes Vandam “had taken an enormous amount of his time to teach me how to improve my scientific skills and certainly to communicate results to others.” Greene joined the Editorial Board of Anesthesiology when Vandam was Editor-in-Chief and became the Editor-in-Chief in 1973–6 to be followed by 11 yr as Editor-in-Chief of Anesthesia & Analgesia. Greene mentions that he made a conscious decision to avoid “involvement in fields that involve local or national organizations of our specialty” because the demands at Rochester and Yale were so great. That decision not withstanding, the ASA House of Delegates was so impressed with his contributions to anesthesia that in 1989 he received the ASA Distinguished Service Award. Lear concludes his autobiography expressing the feeling he has “served my specialty with a modicum of merit.” His recitation of positions held in both the NYSSA and ASA strongly supports that opinion, especially his many years as editor of the first NYSSA and then the ASA monthly bulletins. The tribute in rhyme presented to Dr. Lear by the PACU Nursing staff at Beth Israel Hospital upon his retirement is a delight to read and acknowledges his leadership as a clinician, teacher, and friend. Modell’s autobiography is aptly named “Only in America” as he describes how he, a first-generation American, and his siblings and cousins succeed in America. The description of his contributions to our specialty are many and include sidelights such as duty with the Medical Recovery Team for Project Mercury and a 22-day cultural exchange mission to mainland China in 1974. The three pages devoted to “Training and Medically Directing Nurse Anesthetists” are excellent, a timely and most thoughtful summary of this issue, and highly recommended reading for all, especially legislators, as are his comments on health maintenance organizations. Vandam’s description of his circuitous route into anesthesia and finally to residency training at Penn under Dripps contrasts with the other three, who all entered anesthesia training shortly after internship or military service, albeit not without seriously considering other specialties. Vandam’s contributions to anesthesia are many and include the number of his trainees who went into major academic positions. Especially fascinating was his description of the first successful renal transplant between minor identical twins in 1949, an event which required judicial permission because they were underage. In particular, his choice of continuous spinal anesthesia for the recipient in lieu of general anesthesia with succinylcholine was, as we now know, fortuitous. In summary, Volume IV continues the pattern established with the earlier volumes of this series and is highly recommended reading for anyone interested in the history of anesthesia. A knowledge of the past helps us to understand the present and to predict the future. This book is recommended to anesthesiologists interested in the present and also the future of the specialty. Ozan Akça, MD Daniel I. Sessler, MD Norig Ellison, MD